Atomsk's Heir
by S-Michael
Summary: Atomsk needs Haruko's help, and to get it, he needs Naota's help, but just what is the Pirate King up to?
1. Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Author's Note: My computer was recently fixed (hence my triumphant return to fanfic writing), and I found some old works in a file in it. This fanfic, while it's the second FLCL fic I have published, is the first one I wrote. It is also the first chapter work I ever wrote for fan fiction, even if it's the second, third, or fourth one I've published, dependant on how you count (_Captivated_ could be said not to count because the division was made as a buffer between sexual and non-sexual content, and/or _Mole_ could be said to be a chapter work because even though it's all one document, it was made with actual chapters (even though I ignored them because the chapters were kind of short, only about six and a half pages each)). This is also very much my latest, however; I had only reached mid way through chapter three in the first try, and I heavily edited what was done (I have a frightful tendency to leave out details, especially if they're not integral to the plot). Enjoy! Also, please read _Don't call me Ta-kun_, it's very inspired.

Atomsk's Heir

S-Michael

Chapter One -- Atomsk's Request.

_Nandaba Naota, can you hear me? _the voice said inside of his head. Naota looked around him for the source, but he didn't see anyone acting suspiciously. He was walking home from school and it was a sunny day. _Nandaba Naota, can you hear me? _The voice was strange, and yet, familiar.

"Yes," Naota muttered.

_It's probably best not to speak out loud. People will think you're talking to yourself, _the voice said.

_Alright, _Naota though at the voice. He started walking towards his house again, exactly as if he wasn't having a conversation inside of his head. _Who are you? What are you?_

_I'm a lot of things and have a lot of names. The most notorious of which is Atomsk the Pirate King,_ the voice said.

"Atomsk!" Naota was shocked into saying it out loud, and some people looked at him like he was crazy. He kept walking. _What are you doing here, Atomsk? Why did you return? Is Haruko here?_

_Well, you see, the thing is…I never left,_ Atomsk said.

If Atomsk had been anywhere except inside Naota's own head, he'd have stared. _You have been inside of my head for six months?_

_Yes._

_But that's impossible!_ Naota said. _I saw you leave! Haruko left to follow you!_

_What Raharu was chasing, and in all likelihood continues to chase to this day, is nothing more than a phantom,_ Atomsk said. _I wanted her gone, and now it seems that that might not have been such a good idea._

_What do you mean?_ Naota asked.

_I need her to help someone who is very important to me, someone who's life I recently screwed up,_ Atomsk said.

_Who?_ Naota asked.

_My son,_ Atomsk said.

The idea of Atomsk having a family was…odd, to say the least. Downright creepy, in point of fact. _Okay. How do I figure into this?_ Naota asked.

_I need your help to find Raharu,_ Atomsk said. _I need to reserve my energy for something that I intend to do later, but with me telling you what to do, you can build a spaceship. You can go out to the stars and find Raharu._

Go to the stars? Find Haruko? _I'll do it,_ Naota said.

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The Medical Mechanical plant had been shut down for six months, ever since Atomsk disabled it. Or Atomsk's phantom, whatever. It hadn't been demolished. Why would it be? Naota, Haruko, and Amarao (and Atomsk, Naota amended) knew about the evil plot MM had in store for the people of Earth, and no one had realized just how close they came to enslavement. Come to think of it, neither did Naota. Did they escape by a hair's breath or did they nip the attempted conquest in the bud? Ah, well.

Two figures stole in through a hole in the side of the building that no one had known was there -- no one but Atomsk.

_Are you sure you want to do this? It would mean leaving behind your friends, your family, your school, the entire life you would lead if you grew up a normal kid, _Atomsk said.

"Normalcy is overrated. Haruko taught me that," Naota said. "Besides, I want to help reunite you with your kid. Really."

_You're not just doing this so that you can meet Raharu again?_ Atomsk asked.

"To be quite honest, that is a big part of it, but no," Naota said. "I know what it's like to have an absentee parent. My father did his best to raise my brother and me right, but that doesn't quite make up for the fact that my mother left when I was young. I don't even know what she looks like…" Naota shook himself physically. "Anyway, what are we here to get?"

_I'm sorry,_ Atomsk said.

"Don't be. It's not your fault," Naota said. "Now, like I said, what do we need?"

_Let's start with one of the reactor's force-shield generators,_ Atomsk said.

"I have absolutely no idea what one of those would look like," Naota said.

_Tell Canti what you want. He'll know what to do,_ Atomsk said.

"Canti, find a force-shield generator," Naota said.

The robot, the second figure to enter the MM plant, went into the jungle of wires and pipes and re-emerged with something the size of a refrigerator.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to hide something that big!" Naota said.

_Well, we are going to strip it down, but honestly, what do you expect? We're building a starship,_ Atomsk said. _Besides, who said anything about hiding? You're going to have to tell your father what you intend to do eventually, or did you plan on skipping town on him?_

"I guess I didn't think it out that far," Naota admitted abashedly.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Luke, I am your father," Darth Vader said on the TV.

Naota, who with Atomsk's instructions and Canti's help was actually building a starship, just shook his head at the wide, empty, useless space they were in. Hardly efficient. He felt Atomsk sigh.

"What is it?" Naota asked. Kamon looked at him. "I was talking to Atomsk," Naota explained.

"Ah," Kamon said.

_I'm just wondering…how my son will react when I tell him who I am, _Atomsk said.

Naota's saw the parallel between Darth Vader and Atomsk, and then he wondered where the parallel ended. "I take it that there's a reason they call you 'the pirate king?'" he asked.

_I am a scoundrel and a thief, a more evolved being that uses its gifts not to help people but to play pranks on them and use them as pawns in my demented games,_ Atomsk said. _On many worlds, I am known as the God who Lies, or some variation thereof. As a matter of fact, Christianity's Satan is actually loosely based on me._

Naota whistled.

"I really wish that you'd not do that, it's kinda creepy," Kamon said. "He's in your head. Why don't you talk in your head at him?"

"Sorry," Naota said. _So what you're trying to say is, you're not the type of person to bring to school on parent-teacher night._

_I took up a dalliance for a couple years with a lesser being. I even got married. Why not? It wasn't like the laws of mortals could bind me, and even if they could, you live such pathetically short lives, anyhow. During that time, we had a couple of children, and then I got bored and left,_ Atomsk said. _I didn't even think about it twice, not at the time. Why should I? They were lesser beings. Only one of them even showed any promise of having any kind of powers, and they would have remained dormant his entire life, if I hadn't come along…_ Naota felt Atomsk sigh inside of his head.

_What did you do?_ Naota asked.

_What I always did to mortals. I used him as a pawn in one of my games, I awakened his powers and used him to take out one of my enemies,_ Atomsk said. _I wreaked havoc through him without his knowledge or consent, and the experience has left him forever changed. Again, I didn't think twice about it at the time. Spending six months hiding in your head, though, it taught me that you people deserve better than that. I only want one thing now, and it is to redeem myself in his eyes._

_You made his life into lemonades, so now you want to help him make lemonade,_ Naota said.

_Exactly,_ Atomsk said.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Naota looked at the starship he had created, the vessel that was to take him to the far ends of the galexy. "What an ugly looking thing." They had used an actual dumpster as a casing, and the bits and pieces that stuck out looked like they belonged in one. "Where's the cockpit?" Naota asked. "I mean, this thing is going into space, right? Shouldn't there be, you know, a cockpit?"

_The force-shield will protect you from acceleration and provide you with nice, breathable air, _Atomsk said. _How did you think Haruko's vespa managed space travel?_

"Yeah, that makes sense," Naota said. "The thing is…what if I float out of the bubble?"

_The force shield won't let you. It will bounce you back. It will also protect you from things like extremes of temperature, UV radiation, etcetera,_ Atomsk said.

"So I become a three-dimensional pinball! That's just great!" Naota said.

_Better than becoming a Popsicle, son,_ Atomsk said.

"Don't call me that. You're not m father. As a matter of fact, even my father doesn't call me that," Naota said.

_As you wish,_ Atomsk said.

Naota looked at the spaceship. "Why am I doing this, again?"

_You want to help reunite me with my son so that I can try to fix what I did to his life,_ Atomsk said.

"Suddenly, it seems that generosity can only be stretched so far," Naota said.

_You want to be reunited with Haruko, then,_ Atomsk said.

"She said she'd come back for me," Naota said.

_No, she said she might come back for you. And even if she does, when will she come back? He race is incredibly long-lived, by your standards,_ Atomsk said.

"She said that she was twenty," Naota said.

_She was counting decades, not years,_ Atomsk said. _You'll be lucky if you're not dead of old age by the time she returns._

If Atomsk had been anywhere except for inside of Naota's head, he'd have glared murderously at him; as it was, he glared at the junker of a spacecraft. "Damn you, Atomsk. Just, damn you."

_For what it's worth, I'm rooting for you, son,_ Atomsk said.

This caught Naota completely by surprise. "Wait a second. I thought…I meand, aren't you and Haruko…"

_Who told you that?_

"Amarao, actually," Naota said.

_For one thing, Amarao doesn't know jack about me,_ Atomsk said. _For another, even if there was something going on between us, I intend to leave the galaxy after I've cleaned up this business with my son, so she's free now._

"Wait a second; you're leaving?" Naota asked. He climbed up onto the top of the spaceship, and Canti followed, tinkering with some computer. "Is that what you're saving your power for?"

_My people were among the first sentient species to evolve in the galaxy. We existed for thousands of years, we tampered with the fabric of the natural world to encourage the evolution of beings like ourselves (which, incidentally, is why there are so many independently-evolved species of human in the galaxy), and then we shed the husk of human bodies ourselves, becoming beings…well, beings like I am. We existed like this for many millennia, and then we moved on, leaving the galaxy that gave us life to evolve on its own. I…I was afraid. I stayed behind, left behind, and I watched the many different humanities evolved from the various stock, and I made mischief. I think that it is time that I retire,_ Atomsk said.

Naota felt nothing as the starship blasted off. He looked down and saw the ground rapidly receding. Soon he could see the ocean, then all of Japan, then all of the Earth. He was now floating.

"Amazing," Naota said.

_You get used to it, _Atomsk said.

"I hope not," Naota said.

_This is your last chance to turn back. Just tell Canti to turn around. You can go back to your normal life like nothing ever happened._

"I want to do this, Atomsk," Naota said.

_Are you sure?_

"Yes," Naota said.

_Because of Raharu, _Atomsk half-asked, half-said.

"Yes, but also because…I never really felt like I belonged there, or that belonging was really such a good thing in the first place. I did what I did, when I was expected to do it, how I was expected to do it, because I was expected to do it, and nothing ever changed…until Haruko showed up, that is," Naota said.

_There are places a lot closer to home than where we're going where you can try to find other people like you._ The Earth was a rapidly shrinking ball below them.

"It's not that, it's…I don't know how to say it…"

_It felt wrong. The Earth, I mean._

"Yes, exactly," Naota said. "Hey, did we just pass Jupiter?"

_Largest gas giant in this solar system? Closest to the sun?_

"Yeah."

_Sure did,_ Atomsk said.

"How fast are we going, exactly?"

_Fast,_ Atomsk said. _Honestly, Naota, we're going to another star. Do you honestly want to think about the kinds of speed necessary it is necessary to have to get there in under five thousand generations of your people? Or about how many of your so-called laws of physics we break in doing so?_

"I'll shut up now," Naota said.

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Atomsk's Heir

S-Michael

Chapter 2 -- Naota Arrives

"Hey, that star's getting brighter," Naota said.

_That's where we're going, _Atomsk said.

"What star is it?" Naota asked.

_It's not visible from Earth,_ Atomsk said. Naota didn't want to think about how terribly far from home he was. Atomsk said something that wasn't Japanese, but somehow Naota knew that it was some sort of swear word.

"What is it?" Naota asked.

_I just remembered that you don't speak Galactic Standard,_ Atomsk said. _I can rectify the situation, but it will be…somewhat uncomfortable._

"Better than not speaking the language," Naota said.

_That's my boy,_ Atomsk said. Naota was about to tell him to never say that again, ever, when he felt something like a chainsaw ripping through his brain. It was exactly as if Atomsk had pulled a chainsaw out of some unknown crevice and started trying to rip and tear his way out of Naota's skull. Had there been gravity, Naota would have collapsed.

The first thing Naota said when he could think again was, "God _damn_, Atomsk! What galvex is wrong with you?" and then he realized that he just used a word he didn't even know as a swear word.

_Stop complaining. The operation obviously worked,_ Atomsk said.

"Operation!" Naota demanded.

_A poor choice of words, nothing more,_ Atomsk assured him.

The starship was quickly approaching the fourth planet from this star. At first it was a pale blue dot, then it was like a blueberry, then Naota could kind of make out the outlines of continents, then… "Um, Atomsk? Shouldn't we be slowing down?" Atomsk did not answer. "Atomsk, I really think we should be slowing down!" Naota felt the first pulls of gravity pull him towards the "top" of the force-shield bubble. Then the pull wasn't so weak, and he landed against the force-shield. To his surprise, he didn't fall through, and it didn't fry him. Naota got to his feet., and looked down at the rapidly-approaching planet. "Atomsk, I'm really not kidding! If we don't slow down--"

The ship crashed, spreading a thick dust cloud all around from which nothing was safe…that is, nothing but Naota and Canti, who were protected by the force-shield.

"Gee, I hope they didn't notice us," Naota said dryly. Naota looked up and saw that the body of the ship was directly above their heads. "Um, Atomsk? I hate to ask, but what happens when the force-shield shuts down?"

_Relax, it's not like the shield has friction, _Atomsk said, knowing where Naota was looking because he was inside of his head. _The ship will slide to the ground like butter on a hot frying pan._

"When?" Naota said.

_Just about…now. _Nothing happened. _Maybe there's a few minutes of fuel left, not to worry, though._

"Canti, prepare to brace that thing if it falls on our heads," Naota ordered.

_Honestly, you should trust me, Naota._

"Why?" Naota asked.

_Have I been wrong yet?_ Atomsk asked.

"Not as far as I know, but now would be a poor time to end that steak," Naota said.

The ship seemed to slide down the bubble and hit the ground with a thump that probably would have been deafening had Naota been able to hear it. The shield protected him from the noise, just like it had protected him from the extreme temperatures and UV light of space.

"When does this shield come down?"

_You'll know,_ Atomsk said cryptically.

"Damn it, Atomsk, I--" and he stopped talking there, because as it turned out, he _did_ know that the force shield had gone out. He knew because he was suddenly in the middle of the dust cloud that his ship created. Naota managed to pull his shirt up over his nose before he hacked his lungs out--barely.

"You could have given me some warning!"

_You would have figured it out on your own, had you any brains in that head of yours,_ Atomsk said.

"Honsetly, you're worse than Haruko!" Naota complained.

_I choose to take that as a compliment, _Atomsk said. _You might want to start walking before you get too much dust in your lungs._

"Which way, oh great pirate king?" Naota asked sarcastically.

_East. Towards the sun._

"Come on, Canti," Naota ordered.

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"I've been walking _forever_," Naota complained.

_Relax, we're almost there,_ Atomsk said.

"Almost _where?_" Naota demanded.

"Hey, you! Boy! Any idea what caused this dust cloud?" a woman's voice asked. Naota saw someone as caked in dirt as he probably was by now. Actually, he was in all likelihood even dirtier, because she seemed to have come out of a house that had just barely been out of the total destruction range of the initial shock wave.

"Um, yeah, my ship sort of crashed," Naota admitted. "Sorry about that?"

"_You_ did this!" the woman demanded incredulously. "Honestly, you're lucky that it's all abandoned farms around here! What if you came down in the city? Do you have any idea how much trouble you'd be in?"

"I guess I'm just lucky. The junker was made completely of salvage," Naota said. _Something tells me that it did exactly what it was meant to do, though, didn't it, Atomsk?_ Atomsk didn't respond.

"Well, if you caused this, the police are going to be after you, and that's a fact," the woman said.

"I'm surprised they haven't caught me already," Naota admitted.

"Well, they can't do anything with this dust the way it is, but as soon as it does, they're going to find your ship, find the registration, find out who you are, and arrest you," the woman said. "So, until they do, wanna come inside and get cleaned up?"

_Do it,_ Atomsk said. Suddenly, it didn't seem coincidental that her house was just far enough away to still be standing.

"Sure, why not?" Naota said. _Can they track me? I mean, our ship isn't exactly registered, is it?_

_The ship is currently burning itself with white phosphorus, in order to destroy any skin or hair samples you left behind so that they can't get a DNA match on you, and all the parts will register to Medical Mechanical. They most definitely have your picture from when our ship passed into view range of the satellites, but that won't make their job very easy, not when you're dealing with a planet of eight billion people,_ Atomsk said.

"Come in, then," the woman said.

Naota and Canti entered the building. He pulled his shirt of and shook the dust from his body, running his hands through his hair repetitively, and causing a minor dust cloud.

He felt more than saw the woman watching him. He looked up at her, and noticed that she looked a lot like Haruko. Then again, maybe it was just that she was only the second person he had ever met with pink hair and yellow eyes. She was staring at him.

"What is it?" Naota asked.

"Are all members of your race so beautiful?" she asked.

Naota didn't know why he wasn't surprised. He just rolled his eyes and went back to dusting himself off. Then he realized something: He had only met two members of this race, and both of them had found him, a young boy, sexually attractive. He had thought that Haruko had been yanking his chain at first, and then realized that she was kidding on the square, but this…could it be a coincidence?

_Atomsk…is there something about these people that I should know?_ Naota asked.

_How do you mean?_ Atomsk asked innocently.

_Just tell me, you bastard,_ Naota said, exasperated. _You know exactly what I mean._

_Even on your homeworld, the standards of what is proper do not always remain the same from place to place. For example, there are tribes in I think you call it "New Zealand" where young boys felatiate older men because they believe that ingesting semen will help them grow up to be stronger and manlier. Or was that the one where parents look the other way when children have sex with each other because they're incapable of having children yet? I always mix those two up. Anyway, my point is, what would make you think the galaxy abides by your rules when even on your own planet they aren't universally accepted?_ said Atomsk.

_So what you're telling me is that all women on this planet are into young boys,_ Naota said.

_Not all of them…but a lot, yeah,_ Atomsk said.

"What does that mean?" the woman asked.

"Huh?"

"When I asked you if all of your race were as beautiful as you, you rolled your eyes and didn't answer," the woman said.

"It means…you know what? Never mind what it means. Just forget it," Naota said. "It wasn't an answer to your question."

"So then what is the answer?" the woman asked.

Naota thought of his friends from school. "No, they're really not."

"Ah, well. You, at least, will never go hungry or cold in the cities."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," the woman said.

_Male prostitution is very popular on this world, even more popular than female prostitution, as a matter of fact,_ Atomsk said.

_I see. Well, I don't like guys, so --_

_The clientele is largely female, actually,_ Atomsk said. _Honestly, son, what did I just tell you about not thinking that the universe revolves around your way of thinking?_

_I told you not to call me that,_ Naota said. "Hey, where's the shower?"

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Naota washed his hair for the sixth time since getting into the shower and still did not feel clean. He was lathering up for a seventh go at it when he heard a knock on the bathroom door, which opened a crack. "Hey, boy, what size are you?"

_Ten and a half,_ Atomsk said.

_But--_

_Trust me, the sizes are different here,_ Atomsk said.

"Ten and a half," Naota said.

"I'll see what I have," the woman said, but her voice said that she doubted that she had it.

Naota washed his hair for the seventh time, and began lathering for an eighth run.

_If you're not clean by now, you're not ever going to be,_ Atomsk said.

_If a certain someone had seen fit to land us properly, instead of crashing us…_

_Blah, blah; whine, whine, _Atomsk said.

"I've got a robe in eleven, I hope it's good enough."

Atomsk was silent, and Naota took that as a go-ahead. "I don't see why not," he said.

Naota was able to tie the robe tight around his waist (thank god), but not above that, so it exposed his chest and upper stomach with literally every other step. He thought that the woman did it on purpose, and said as much to Atomsk.

_Of course, she did it on purpose! But what are you going to do?_ said Atomsk.

Naota sighed.

"What is it?" the woman asked.

"Just thinking," Naota said. He looked at the food she had given him. It looked like ramen, but it did not taste like ramen. Not bad, per se, but different. Alien. Naota's brother had told him how weird the food in America tasted, and that was still on the same planet. What did he expect here, on the other side of the galaxy?

"So, boy, what's your name?"

"Naota."

"That's a strange name."

"It comes from my people's word for 'honesty,'" Naota said.

" 'Honesty,' I like it."

"What's your name?"

"Rehara. So, what are you doing here…Honesty?"

"Please, call me 'Naota.' I came here looking for someone, actually," Naota said.

"Anyone I'd know?" Rehara asked.

"It would be an amazing coincidence if you knew her--"

_Tell her!_ ordered Atomsk.

"--but her name is Ha--, I mean, Raharu. Haruhar Raharu," Naota said.

"Her name is Ha-- I mean, Raharu. Haruhar Raharu," Naota said.

Rehara was suddenly suspicious. "Why are you looking for Raharu?"

_What should I tell her?_ Naota asked.

_Tell her about your feelings for Raharu, _Atomsk said.

"I'm in love with her," Naota said.

Rehara stared at him for a moment more, and then started laughing. And laughing. Laughing until she was bent over and tears were running down the sides of her face. "That bitch always was the lucky one."


	2. Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Atomsk's Heir

S-Michael

Chapter Three -- Rehara

Rehara stared at him for a moment more, and then started laughing. And laughing. Laughing until she was bent over and tears were running down the sides of her face. "That bitch always was the lucky one."

"I take it that you know her," Naota said dryly.

Rehara stopped laughing. "That depends. Are you spying for anybody?"

"I am only twelve local years old," Naota said. He hadn't known or cared that the local year was slightly longer than on Earth. (He had recently turned thirteen.) It was the knowledge that Atomsk put into his brain.

"Some of the greatest intel comes from pillow talk," Rehara said. She pulled a bottle and glasses from a place similar to a cupboard, and poured them both drinks. After seeing her drink it, he took a sip. It tasted funny, and burned as it went down his throat. Alcoholic.

"What are you talking about?" Naota said, truly not understanding her meaning.

Rehara snorted. "Cut the innocent crap. It's cute, but surely a beautiful boy such as yourself knows how to wean a woman's secrets from her once you're in her bed," Rehara said.

Naota, still confused, said nothing.

"Don't tell me that you're a virgin, beautiful boy!" Rehara said.

"The customs of your world seem to be different than mine," Naota said flatly, sipping at his beverage.

"I'll say they are! Damn!" Rehara swore. "Are you sure that you've never…"

"No," Naota said. He hadn't even drank all that much, but he was beginning to feel buzzed. He looked at the glass; it was only half empty.

"It's not fair. It's just not fair," Rehara said.

"What's not fair?" Naota asked, taking bigger gulps of his glass.

_Virgin boys, especially ones as aesthetically pleasing as you, are in short supply here. There are those who would pay a fortune to have you in their bed,_ Atomsk said.

" 'What's not fair?' he asks! Juicy little thing like you shows up on my doorstep, nubile, virginal…and you're looking for Raharu!" Rehara said.

"Oh," Naota said, to both of them.

"So, Naota, was it, how do you know Raharu?" Rehara asked, refilling Naota's glass.

Naota sipped at it. The more he drank, the better he liked it. "She came to my world looking for Atomisk. No, it's Atomosk. No, A--"

"Atomsk?" Rehara's eyes widened.

"Yeah, that's the guy. Still don't know what's so great about him. Anyway, she came to my world looking for Atomis…Atomo…that guy, and then she hit me over the head with a guitar," Naota said.

_She's plying you with drinks,_ Atomsk said.

"Yeah, I know she's plying me with drinks, okay?" Naota said. "Damn know-it-all."

"Um…Naota? What was, uh, that?" Rehara asked.

"Just some internal monologue," Naota said. "Yeah, let's go with that. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, hitting me with the guitar. Well, then these things started popping out of my head."

Rehara gasped. "You have N.O. channels?"

"Sure, why not, let's go with that," Naota said. "I got this bump thing, and then Canti there came out of my head. It hurt."

"You channeled a whole robot?" Rehara asked, unbelieving.

"Robots. Two of them. And once each on two other occasions. The robots fought each other, Canti against a giant hand thing. Oh, and a guitar or three, I don't remember if it was one or two. Atomsk was involved at one point, so I don't know if it was really me, though. Anyway, the point is, Canti also took on the other robots. No wait, Haruko did. No wait, that wasn't the point --"

"Haruko?"

"Oh, yeah. That's what Raharu was calling herself when she was on my planet," Naota said, taking a big gulp from his glass. "Anyway --what was I saying? Oh, yeah. She moved in with us, and I fell in love with her, and then she flew away because Atomsk escaped."

"Escaped? She had captured him?" Rehara asked, unbelieving.

"No no no. Medical Mechanical did. But I freed him and used him to destroy it. Or maybe he used me. I don't know. That was one wild week," Naota said.

"A week! You channeled all that in a week?"

"You say that like it's hard. Anyway, the point is…what was the point?…oh, yeah, the point is, Haruko left, and I came here to find her."

"Why didn't she bring you with her?" Rehara asked. I mean, if you can channel like you say you can, you'd make a powerful weapon."

_She doesn't know the half of it,_ Atomsk said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naota said to both of them at once. Rehara refilled his glass.

"Think about it. If you were with Haruko, and got in a bit of a jam, say some planet's authorities had you surrounded. You could summon ammo, an escape vehicle, an army of robots if you're as strong as you say you are."

"Strong? What are you talking about?" Naota asked.

"Most people would be exhausted for weeks after summoning so much as a spare clip of pistol ammo. That you were able to do so much in so little time without ending up dead…smacks of the superhuman," Rehara said.

"Wow. I--"

_Don't tell her that all that channeling didn't even slow you down. She finds your story hard enough to believe as it is,_ Atomsk said.

"But it's true," Naota said, very drunk.

"Okay, I believe you. Which brings me back to my first question, of why in the galaxy didn't she take you with her? You are the perfect weapon, the ideal body type for your age, and in love with her. The gods don't often give such bounty," Rehara said, refilling his glass.

"Apparently the universe is a dangerous place, and she didn't want me to get hurt," Naota said, drinking some more.

"She said that?" Rehara asked.

"Not in so many words," Naota said.

"Ah, I see," Rehara said.

"So, how do you know Haruko?" Naota asked.

"Raharu and I are cousins," Rehara said.

"I thought I saw a family resemblance," Naota said. "I didn't say anything because I could be wrong. You and Haruko are the only two people I have ever met with pink hair and yellow eyes. Is that common out here in the galaxy?"

"On this world," Rehara said.

"Oh. What is this world's name?"

Atomsk swore.

"You…don't know what planet you're on? How did you fly a ship here without knowing what planet you were flying to?"

"The ship flew itself. I had nothing to do with it, even if I did--"

_If you tell her that you built the ship, I am going to hurt you!_

"Why can't I tell her?"

_Shut up, you drunken fool!_

"Tell me what?"

"Tell you that I--"

_Shut up!_

"Maybe we should wait until I'm sober to talk about this," Naota said.

"You've been talking to yourself a lot. You're not wearing a wire, are you?" Rehara asked.

"Why would I be wearing a wire?" Naota asked.

"That wasn't an answer," Rehara said.

"Huh?"

"Yes or no: are you wearing a wire?" Rehara asked.

"No. You want me to prove it?" Naota started fumbling with his robes. "Whoa. I'm drunker than I thought."

"What are you doing?" Rehara demanded, embarrassed.

"Proving that I'm not wearing a wire," Naota said.

"Obviously if you were sent to seduce information out of Raharu or myself, the wire would be on the inside. Besides, I know you're not lying. I laced your drink with truth serum."

_Truth serum? Do not say another word, you hear me? Not. Another. Word. I'll shut up, too: I think it's starting to affect me._

"Yeah, you should shut up. You're pretty bossy for a voice in my head, Atomsk," Naota said.

Rehara nearly dropped the bottle. "Atomsk!"

_Gee, great, that's just perfect. Thanks a frickin' lot, Naota. I was hoping to keep my presence secret for a while, but you just had to open your big, fat mouth._

"Don't take that tone with me, Atomsk. This whole trip was your idea. I'm helping you to find your snot-nosed brat, remember?" Naota said. "Besides, you just said that you were going to shut up."

"Are you serious? Atomsk is _here?_ On this planet? In my _house?_ Inside of your _head?_" Rehara said with interest.

_You see? This was exactly the kind of thing I want to avoid, Naota,_ Atomsk said.

"Oh, shut up. And you, stop acting like he is all that. He has kids, you know. Kids he doesn't even take care of, the irresponsible good-for-nothing."

_That hurt!_ Atomsk protested.

"Why, Naota, sounds like you're jealous," Rehara said.

"I am not!" Naota said, blushing.

"Don't worry, sweet thing. Unlike with you, my interest in Atomsk is purely non-sexual," Rehara said.

"Great, now you're teasing me. Why do beautiful girls tease me? Mamimi, then Haruko, and now you. Perfect. Oh, why me?" Naota ranted.

"I'm not teasing. I would really like to have sex with you," Rehara said.

"Yeah? Prove it," Naota said.

A funny look crossed Rehara's face. Then she laughed. "Okay. C'mon."

Naota stood up and passed out.

"Excellent timing," Rehara said self-depreciatingly.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Naota was half awake and didn't know or care where he was. He was warm, he was comfortable, and that was all that mattered. Naota snuggled against something warm and soft, and then realized that it was a person. Everything came back to him, and he opened his eyes wide. "Rehara?"

He heard a groan. "Don't move. You're comfy."

"What, you couldn't have given me my own room?" Naota asked.

"Yes, I could have," Rehara said nonchalantly. "What of it?"

Naota pulled himself out of bed.

"Hey! I was comfy!" Rehara complained.

"While I was asleep, you didn't…uh…did you? I mean…"

"Did I perv out on your unconscious body?" Rehara supplied "helpfully." "Is that what you mean?"

"Um, yeah. Well, did you?"

Rehara grinned evilly and turned so that her back was facing him, making snoring sounds.

"C'mon, I know that that's fake!" Naota said. The snoring didn't stop. Naota rolled his eyes. Was this a family thing, or (heaven forbid) a racial thing, or something? He went down stairs.

"Where's the kitchen?" He found his way to it, and then looked in the cupboards for something to eat. And then he realized that he didn't know what anything was. True, everything was written in a strange alien tongue, but when Atomsk had given Naota the ability to speak that language, he had also given him the ability to read in it. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that even though Naota knew what sounds those characters made, these words weren't registering any particular meaning in his head.

"Atomsk, why don't I know what these are?" Naota said.

_They're food. I thought that was obvious,_ Atomsk said.

"But with everything else, I had at least some idea what was what, why is this a complete blank? Why don't I know what this stuff tastes like?"

_Because I don't know what it tastes like. Come on, Naota, I'm a being of pure energy: what do I know about food?_

"Solid enough to have a kid," Naota said.

_It comes and goes at my whim,_ Atomsk said.

The door opened and someone came in. "Hey, Rehara, I don't know if you noticed, but there's quite a dust storm out--" the speaker noticed Naota and froze.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Atomsk's Heir

S-Michael

Chapter 4 -- Haruko Arrives

The speaker noticed Naota and froze. "What are you _doing_ here, Naota?" Haruko asked.

Naota's heart caught. "Haruko…I…I've missed you."

"I suppose so, but…well, how did you get here?"

Rehara came down the stairs. "Oh, hey, cousin. You've been holding out on me."

"How did you get here, Ta-kun?" Haruko demanded. Naota didn't remember her ever being this serious.

"Um, duh, he took a ship. Well, he crashed a ship, at least," Rehara said. "Caused a dust storm, don't know if you noticed. Hey--did she just call you 'Ta-kun?' You told me your name was 'Naota!'"

"Where on Earth did you get a ship, Ta-kun?" Haruko demanded (no pun intended, by the way). "You come from a primitive armpit of a world with no idea what waits for them out here."

"Earth. Is that your world, 'Naota?'" Rehara asked.

"I built one out of the refuse of the Medical Mechanical plant," Naota said.

"He's smarter than I though," Rehara said, and whistled.

"That's not possible, Naota."

"Wait, I'm confused: is he Ta-kun or Naota?"

"Well, Canti provided most of the muscle, and Atomsk told me what to do."

"Atomsk, what do you mean?"

Naota told the whole story.

"Hate to tell you this, but you've been tricked," Haruko said.

"What do you mean?" Naota asked.

"Ta-kun, part of the reason I didn't take you with me was to let you…heal. N.O. channels are not meant to be open indefinitely; it's not good for the brain to be outside of the body for that long. The longest recorded continuous N.O. channel was a week and a half, and that resulted in the death of the channeler. For Atomsk to really have been in your head for that long means that your N.O channels had to have been open for the better part of a year, Nao. That is simply…not possible."

"But…I talked to him."

"Some sort of psychicism. Telepathy," Haruko said.

"But why?" Naota said.

"To distract me with this fool's errand. I have never heard of Atomsk having children, Ta, and it would be hard to miss if he did: those kids would have the power of demigods," Haruko said.

Naota's skin glowed red and a strange voice issued from his mouth: "That's a plausible theory, but no. I am here, Raharu, and I need your help."

Haruko's mouth dropped open. "Atomsk…Your power will finally be mine!" She pulled a guitar out of somewhere and charged at Naota.

"Hey! Not in my house!" Rehara cried.

Atomsk waved Naota's right arm in the air and cast a force-shield. Haruko's guitar bounced off it harmlessly. "Not now, Raharu. If you do what I ask of you, though, you will find your heart's desire within reach, I promise you."

"You swear?" Haruko asked.

"I swear," Atomsk said.

"Hey, since when can you speak through me?" Naota demanded.

"Since forever. I just didn't want to freak you out," Atomsk said.

"Well, gee, thanks for the consideration," Naota said sarcastically. "I spent three months freaking my dad out talking to myself for nothing."

"Alright, I'll help," Haruko said, "but I swear to all that's good and holy, if this is a trick, Atomsk, you'll be sorry."

"Fair enough," Atomsk said. "You might want to get prepared for the trip, though."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"Pirate King's Keep," Atomsk said.

"Can I come?" Rehara asked.

"Why?" Haruko asked.

"Oh, gee, I don't know, maybe because it's the hangout of the most powerful being in the galaxy."

"Fine."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Naota was watching a man with long, pink hair broadcast the news on the TV. It was still called a TV, even though in all the old sci-fi Naota had ever read, it would be called a holo-emitter or some such thing.

"The dust cloud that now covers a fourth of the planet seems to have been caused by a small spaceship which impacted the planet at close to the speed of light. There have been no fatalities as of yet cause by the aftermath of the impact, and it doesn't look like there's going to be any, thanks to the speedy work of our medical technicians. It was just fortunate that the ship hit a relatively uninhabited patch of desert, or the initial death toll upon impact could have been enormous.

"The police have the alien ship in custody and are searching for clues. Unconfirmed rumor says that the ship was built with MM parts, but further speculation on this matter would be useless. We do have an image of the passengers, however."

The man's image was replaced by one of Canti and Naota in the force-shield, which for some reason was totally visible from the outside. "Hey, I don't remember looking that scared," Naota murmured.

"If you see this boy or this robot, please report them to your local authorities," the man said.

A woman appeared. "Thank you for that important story, Ivstan. I'm confident that they will not evade capture for long. A boy that sexy is bound to draw somebody's notice."

"You're a sexist bitch, Koratu," Ivstan said.

"And proud of it, Ivstan. We'll be back after this."

"I have to admit, television is entertaining out here," Naota said.

"Ivstan and Koratu are quarrelling again?" Rehara asked, plopping down on the couch next to him.

"Koratu said I was sexy and Ivstan called her a sexist," Naota said.

"They know who you are?"

"They have my picture from before I crashed," Naota said. "That really must have been a good camera, since I was apparently going near light speed."

"We have that kind of tech out here," Rehara said.

"All I'm saying is, look at him," Koratu said. "Does he look like he could have orchestrated this?" She noticed the camera. "Oh, welcome back to the show."

"Face it, if you didn't think he was cute, you wouldn't be trying to get him off the hook," Ivstan said.

"Look at the picture, he's terrified. You're just jealous because he's hotter than you are," Koratu said.

"Stop being a chauvinistic cow, Koratu," Ivstan said.

"Stop being emotional, hormonal, and petty, like a typical male, first," Koratu said.

"It's funny 'cause it's true!" Rehara laughed.

"Uh, since when?" Naota asked.

Rehara groaned. "Don't tell me you're one of those tight-ass masculinists!" she exclaimed.

"Masculinist?" Naota asked. "What's that?"

"You don't know?" Rehara asked.

Haruko plopped down next to Naota and wrapped her arm around him, ruffling his hair affectionately with her other hand. "Cuddly Ta-kun's homeworld is a strange and backwards place."

"Hey! Stop that!" Naota protested weakly. She kissed him. Rehara stared wide-eyed.

"You just…"

"Yeah."

"And he's not…"

"No."

"Damn, I want to visit this Earth place," Rehara said.

"What are you two talking about?" Naota demanded.

"If Raharu had done that to a normal boy, he'd be screaming 'rape,'" Rehara said. "Gods, on Earth, can you really just go around randomly molesting males."

"Well, in the places I was, at least," Haruko said.

Rehara looked at Naota. "And yet you're a virgin?"

"A sexually frustrated virgin," Haruko said…was she _bragging?_

Rehara stared at her cousin over Naota's head.

"Gods, cousin, how did you manage such a thing?" Rehara said.

"Easy. They're all a bunch of sluts. Not at Ta-kun's age, but when they get older, the men of his race practically throw themselves at you."

"No way," Rehara said.

"Way. It helps that not many women there have a healthy sexual appetite. Honestly, they act like men, which causes their men to act like women."

"So you were alone on a planet of sex-starved males. That sounds like the premise of a bad porno," Rehara said.

"My hand to the gods, it's true," Haruko said. "Strange and erotic as it seems."

"I don't act like a girl!" Naota protested.

"Yes you do. You just don't know that you do because your world thinks that that's the way a boy is supposed to act," Haruko said.

"Isn't it?" Naota demanded.

"Stop being hormonal," Rehara chided.

"I'm not hormonal," Naota said sulkily.

"This just in," Koratu said on the TV. "An anonymous source has confirmed that at least ninety percent of the material in the spaceship can be traced back to ore from Medical Mechanical-controlled worlds. The remaining ten percent comes from an unknown source."

"Sounds like an attack by MM to me," Ivstan said.

"Eighty four percent of our net viewers agree with you, Ivstan. No word about any response our government may plan, though," Kowaru said.

"Thank you for the story, Kowaru," Ivstan said.

"Also, there's no word about that cute boy or his robot, but I, for one, am keeping my eyes peeled," Kowaru added.

Ivstan glared at her. "I hate you."

"I know you do," Kowaru said.

"Well, that's just peachy," Haruko said. "The authorities are after Ta-kun. How the heck are we going to smuggle him off the planet? I mean, Canti we can just dissemble, but Naota is a different matter."

"I know what you mean," Rehara said. "They've got to have his DNA from the crash site by now."

"Atomsk said that the junker burned itself out with white phosphorus," Naota said.

"If everything melted, it might explain why they haven't figured out that this thing is a piece of junk yet," Haruko said.

"So we _could_ disguise him," Rehara said.

"No, the scanners would see through whatever disguise we had."

"What if we left on your vespa?" Naota asked.

"Um the scanners are in space, duh. How do you think they got your picture?" Haruko asked.

"Oh," Naota said.

"Alright, we can't just leave, a disguise won't work, and we've got to think of something before the dust dies down enough for police to go on a door-to-door hunt," Rehara said.

"Wait: What was that last part?" Naota asked. "No one mentioned that."

"I thought it was self-evident," Rehara said.

"Well, tell me what it's about, anyway," Naota said.

"Obviously, the police are going to want to talk to you about you blacking out half the planet and all," Haruko said. "We have to find a way out of here without being caught by the police."

"On the contrary," Atomsk said. "I have a plan."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Commentary On Chapters 1-4 (As If You Care)

Don't worry, it's not done yet! There's at least three or four more chapters planned (two more documents). I did it two-chapters-to-a-document because neither of the first two chapters were long enough to be worthy of their own document, not even after I heavily edited it.

The original document was found at the same time I found _Never Trust a Demon_, but I didn't publish it at the same time because I got writer's block right at the end of what I had written originally, which is fifty paragraphs into chapter 3 if you count the edited version (which is the posted version). (Paragraph 48: _"She said that?" Rehara asked. _Paragraph 49: "_Not in so many words," Naota said._ Paragraph 50: _"Ah, I see," Rehara said._ Just so you know.)

All of that put together, plus some stupid little commentary that I put at the end of every chapter (not like this, it was something where I talked to the stars of my fanfic (you've seen its like before)…what was I thinking?), only came to 14 pages in the original (when set at 12 point font to be comparable to this) (the commentary took up two pages, so in essence the whole of what was finished of the original was shorter than the first two chapters of this).

Well, the point I'm trying to make here is that I wasn't sure that I'd be able to finish this, but now I am. Fear not, more is coming. I hoped you like what's there so far, please R&R.


	3. Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Atomsk's Heir

S-Michael

Chapter 5 -- Atomsk's Plan

The police officer injected Naota with something. "It'll take a minute for the drug to take hold, okay?" Naota nodded. She ruffled his hair affectionately. Like everyone else he had met on this planet so far, she had pink hair and yellow eyes. Naota looked at the ceiling and hoped that Atomsk's plan worked.

"_Why must we evade the police?" Atomsk asked._

"_Because you blacked out half the planet," Rehara said._

"_Rehara, you're just a witness, they won't use truth serum on you unless they have to," Atomsk said._

"_They have a lie detector built into the walls," Rehara said._

"_Yes, but not a perfect one. It relies on the tone of your voice, the beat of your heart, things like that. Raharu, as the arresting officer, you don't even have to worry about that. Rehara, all I want you to do is omit the part about me being inside Naota and the spaceship being of his own design. Say that he never told you where he got the spaceship, and emphasize that Naota is lost and confused. That's not even technically a lie."_

"That ought to be good enough," the officer said.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

_Atomsk, in the body of Naota, went behind the counter of Rehara's kitchen. He mixed something, "Drink this after Haruko calls her superiors. It'll help you fool the lie detectors."_

"_How do you know?" Rehara asked._

_Atomsk used Naota's face to smile attractively. "Trust me." Suddenly, she trusted him._

"Alright, your name is Haruhar Rehara, correct?" the officer asked.

"Correct," Rehara said.

"Alright, tell us what happened."

She told him what happened, until--

"Why didn't you call the police when he told you that he was the one who caused the blackout?" the officer asked.

"I would have, but he was just so scared and alone, and I thought, well, it would be a while until you could do anything about it, anyway, what with the dust storm and all…"

He nodded. "Continue."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"_Do you want me to hide the fact that this is the same Nandaba Naota that I encountered on Earth?" Haruko asked._

"_No, that would just create the need for more lies, and the closer we stick to the truth in this, the better," Atomsk said._

"What's your name?" the officer asked.

_Let me handle this,_ Atomsk said.

"Nandaba Naota," Atomsk said in Naota's voice.

"Naota. That's a pretty name," she said, and smiled at him.

Naota's mouth smiled back shyly. "Thank you," Atomsk said meekly.

_I don't believe this. Are you flirting with her?_ Naota demanded.

_Trust me, son,_ Atomsk said.

_I told you not to call me that. And I don't want you flirting with people while you're inside of me!_ exclaimed Naota.

"Tell me what happened, Naota," she said.

"Alright, ma'am," Atomsk said. "It started three quarters of a year ago…" Atomsk told the officer about Naota's adventures with Haruko from his perspective with an alarming amount of detail.

_You read my mind, didn't you, you bastard!_ demanded Naota.

_I had to,_ Atomsk said, not pausing in his verbal recital of Naota's story.

_Must you make me sound so pathetic?_ Naota said.

_I'm playing to her emotions,_ Atomsk said.

_Why?_ Naota demanded.

"…and then Haruko left," Atomsk finished. He took a trembling breath, and faked a tear. "Everything was alright for a while, but then Medical Mechanical came back, and they kidnapped me, and took me off-world. They made me learn their language so that I could serve them. They…they hated me. I ruined their plans to conquer my world -- did I mention we have no space flight capabilities?" Atomsk sniffled.

"You did, Naota," the officer said gently, reaching out to grab his hand.

"I mean, we have _nothing_," Atomsk said. "The Americans have landed on our one moon, the Russians sent a ship behind it to photograph the surface of it, back when they were the USSR, and the Chinese have made it into orbit. Those are the only three nations of my world to have made it into space, and that is the extent of their reach."

"I understand, Naota," she said, squeezing his hand.

"I ruined MM's plan to conquer my world, and so they kidnapped me. At first I thought that they did it out of spite, but then they put me in the spaceship, and they sent me off into space. I think they thought I'd die in the aftermath of the explosion," Atomsk said.

_What are you doing, Atomsk?_ Naota asked.

_Would you rather take credit for this yourself?_ Atomsk said.

"Do you remember anything specifically?" she asked, squeezing Naota's hand.

"Nothing relevant," Atomsk said. "Well, there was this one thing one of the thugs said about 'teaching the "pink-heads"' -- am I pronouncing that right? Yeah. 'Teaching the pink-heads a thing or two.'"

"Is that all?" she asked.

Atomsk made a show of concentrating. "They opened my N.O channels before sending me off. They might have been planning on sending something through. Do N.O. channels have a maximum distance or something? You know, like how _radio_ signals fade out with distance?"

"Naota, do you know what 'pink-head' means?"

Atomsk shook his head. "No, my command of your language is…how do you say it? Not-whole."

"Partial, incomplete," the officer suggested.

"If you say so," Atomsk said.

"Well, pink-head is actually two words…" the officer went on to explain it in words someone with an incomplete grasp of the language could understand. "You understand?"

Atomsk nodded.

"Good. 'Pink-head' is actually an insult, you should know."

"I didn't mean to offend," Atomsk said.

"I know. You didn't, Naota," she said.

"It was just…so scary," Atomsk said, and started to cry.

The officer went around the table and held him against her, shushing him.

_Atomsk, please, you're embarrassing me!_ Naota said.

_Trust me, Naota. PR is important,_ Atomsk said.

Atomsk "regained control" of himself. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," the officer said, tipping Naota's head up to meet her eyes.

"Can…can I go now?" Atomsk asked hopefully.

"Not just yet."

"Oh. I see. Well, can you hold me, then? Just for a little while?"

"Okay, Naota," she said.

_What are you doing?_

_Wrapping her around my little finger. What did it look like I was doing, Naota?_

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Well, how's the witness?"

"She appears to be telling the truth, except about why she didn't call the police."

"Well, that's to be expected."

"What do you mean?"

"A beautiful boy like that arrives on her doorstep, why do you think she didn't call us right away?"

"Oh. I see."

"Go ahead and release her."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"_Alright, Raharu, after they're done questioning Rehara and 'Naota,' they're going to show you the tapes, and then someone will ask you--"_

"Do you have any reason to believe that any of this is in any way inaccurate?" her commander asked.

"_--(or words to that effect), to which you will of course answer that--"_

"I do not," Haruko said.

"_After that, they may ask some more technical questions, but eventually, they'll get around to saying--"_

"Naota claims that Medical Mechanical kidnapped him. Do you believe that they could still be on the planet?"

"_--to which you will respond--"_

"No, I doubt that they would stay, not after committing a federal crime," it disturbed Haruko that Atomsk could think things out this thoroughly. Made her wonder what else he was planning.

"I see. Thank you, Raharu."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Well, I have orders to escort you back to your homeworld, Ta-kun," Haruko said. Naota hopped on he back of Haruko's vespa. "You know, it was really sweet the way you cried."

"It was all Atomsk's doing!" Naota protested.

"Uh-uh, sure," Haruko teased.

"Really!" Naota said.

The Vespa lifted from the ground, and flew off into space. The city, then the surrounding countryside, then the continent, then the planet itself shrank into nothingness. "That will never stop being impressive," Naota said.

"Just you wait," Haruko said knowingly.

"_Raharu will take Naota and myself to Chyochi, and we will wait for you guys to catch up to us there," Atomsk said._

"So what was in that drink you gave Rehara, anyway, Atomsk?" Haruko asked.

Atomsk, using "his" voice instead of Naota's, responded: "One part alcohol, one part placebo."

"No shit?" Haruko stared at Naota's eyes.

"Watch the road!" Naota complained.

"One: autopilot. Two: even if I was flying this thing, we're going several times the speed of light. If there was anything that we needed to worry about on our path, we would be dead before we even saw it."

"Gee, that's comforting," Naota said.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you…"

"Yeah?" Naota asked.

"Where's my Rickenbacker?"

"Huh?"

"My guitar," Haruko said. "Where is it?"

Naota grimaced: he had left it behind back on Earth. How could he have been so stupid? "It's…safe."

Haruko spun around in her seat and looked him in the eye. "Safe where?"

"Safe…at home," Naota said.

"Ah, well. We can fix that when we reach Chyochi," Haruko said, turning back around.

_Atomsk, we need to talk,_ Naota said.

_What about?_ asked Atomsk.

_I don't want you flirting with people while you're inside of me,_ Naota said.

_Is this about that police officer? As hard as it may be for you to believe that I don't exist to get you laid, that was entirely business,_ Atomsk said.

_More like to get yourself laid,_ Naota accused.

_I am a sexless being that has been alive longer than humans have lived on your planet. Trust me when I say that it was entirely business,_ Atomsk said.

_Hey, wait! If you're sexless, how can you have a kid?_ Naota demanded.

_Obviously, when I take on human form I take on gender,_ Atomsk said. _That means that I can have sex, and furthermore, my body wants to. I've never been one to inhibit myself, true, but when not in human form, I do not feel lust._

_But you are in my body!_ Naota protested.

_I am. And did you feel like you wanted to screw the good officer?_ Atomsk asked rhetorically.

_Well, uh, not really. I mean, she is cute…_ Naota stammered.

_Business, then,_ Atomsk said.

_Of course,_ Naota said.

Atomsk laughed.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Atomsk's Heir

S-Michael

Chapter 6 -- Searching for Atomsk's Heir

The predominant colors of Chyochi were blue and white. The native flora was blue-green, and white stone jutted through the planet's surface. The People had sapphire colored hair and eyes and extremely pale skin (not albino pale, but close) (also, long, pointed ears). Even the buildings seemed to be a bluish silver color. Even under normal light everything probably would have been a little bluish, but Chyochi orbited a blue dwarf, which magnified the effect. The sky was a deep blue, deeper than it was on Earth, with a smattering of wispy clouds, and the ocean was a darker blue than the sky, waves cresting on the shores with white foam. Naota could see both from the balcony of the hotel that he and Haruko were staying at. The others had not yet arrived.

"I hope nothing has happened to them," Naota said.

"Relax, Ta-kun. Do you have any idea how long it takes to get a robot out of storage?" Haruko asked. "We might as well just sit back and enjoy ourselves for a couple days. Unless, of course you want to ditch them."

_Well?_ Naota asked Atomsk.

_I don't really care. Canti has served his purpose, and Rehara was really only tagging along, anyway. I suggest that you wait, as it'll be a good excuse for you and Raharu to…ahem, work on your relationship. It's up to you, though,_ Atomsk said.

Great, now Atomsk was playing match-maker.

"Atomsk said that it's up to us," Naota edited.

"Let's wait, then. I promised Rehara she could come, and besides, whatever Atomsk is really planning, I think I'll want some witnesses."

"You don't trust him?" Naota asked.

"Nao, he's _Atomsk_," Haruko said. "The Pirate King, the Prince of Light and Darkness, the Master of the Roads, the God who Lies, the Light-Bringer, Defier-of-the-Deities, Godslayer, the Patron of Thieves, I could go on. Of course I don't trust him."

"Oh. Stupid question," Naota said. He recognized _Light-Bringer_ and _the Prince of Darkness_ as being titles ascribed to Lucifer in Christendom, and remembered what Atomsk said about that personage being loosely based on him. _Just how loosely, I wonder?_

_Fairly loosely,_ Atomsk said. _That guy takes himself way too seriously._

"Why were you chasing after him, then?" Naota asked.

"Um, duh. He has something I want: power. I want the power to control the galactic lay-lines, the N.O. channels. Sure, through people like you I can access and use them, but I want to be able to alter them to reflect my own desires, the way Atomsk can. I want to hold the whole of the galaxy in the palm of my hand, Ta-kun."

"And then what? Galactic domination?" Naota asked.

Haruko shrugged. "Maybe. I won't know until I have the power. Mostly, though, I just want the power for its own sake."

"If not galactic domination, what could you possibly want that kind of power for?" Naota asked.

"In your world's recent civil cold war, the Americans and the Russians each acquired enough nuclear strength to destroy your world eight times over a piece. What could _they_ possibly want with that kind of power?"

_Recent_ Cold War? Then Naota remembered that Haruko was literally as old as America was, according to Atomsk.

"C'mon, let's go eat, my treat," Haruko said.

"It pretty much has to be, doesn't it? I don't have any money," Naota said.

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Naota and Haruko sat at a table of what Naota couldn't help but to feel was an expensive restaurant. Tablecloths. Candelabras. Soft music. The tablecloths were blue, the candles were a light blue, lighter than cerulean, in silver candelabras. Naota picked up a piece of silverware that looked like a fork with prehensile parts, trying to figure out how to use it.

"What is with all the blue on this world?" Naota asked.

"Hmm?" Haruko asked.

"This world has a lot of blue," Naota said.

"Yeah. What of it?" Haruko asked.

"Is it, like a theme or something?" Naota asked.

"Not consciously. All worlds have their predominant colors. You just never noticed because you've lived your entire life on Earth," Haruko said.

"Really?" Naota asked. "What are Earth's colors?"

"Shades of brown and yellow," Haruko said. "There's also dark greens and dull oranges to a lesser extent. My world isn't much different, except with more orange-yellow and less yellow, so that's why you hadn't noticed."

"Haruko? People keep looking at us, and their expressions are…I don't think they like us," Naota said.

"They think we're a couple. That sort of thing isn't really popular on this planet," Haruko said.

"Then why do they think we're a couple?" Naota asked.

"Because I'm a pink-head, and we're notorious for molesting young boys," Haruko said, sounding…disgruntled?

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"What took ya?" Haruko asked when Rehara and Canti showed up the next day. Canti, of course, said nothing.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Rehara said. "Suffice it to say that bureaucrats are the Spawn of Evil." The she changed the subject, "Alright, so from here we go to Atomsk's lair, and then what?"

"My son will be there when we get there," Atomsk said. "I have arranged for it."

"When?" Rehara demanded.

"When you weren't looking," Atomsk said.

"I don't remember you doing anything like that," Naota said.

"You weren't paying attention," Atomsk said.

"What was I doing?" Naota asked.

"This and that," Atomsk said.

"Watching you talk to yourself is giving me a head ache!" Rehara complained

"Let's just assume that Atomsk knows what he's talking about," Haruko said.

"Okay," Naota said.

"How will he get into the Pirate King's Keep? Only Atomsk can access it," Rehara said.

"My son has most of my powers. He will be able to use my lair to it's full potential. Why else would I leave it to him when I leave the galaxy?" Atomsk said.

"So in other words, he can find his own way in," Naota said.

"Yes."

"So why didn't you just say so?" Naota said.

"Making my head hurt, again," Rehara said.

"Sorry," Naota said.

"That's alright," she said. "Well, let's go."

"Not just yet. There's still something I need to do first," Haruko said.

"What?" Naota asked.

Haruko put a visor around Naota's head.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Naota demanded.

"Nothing I haven't done to you before," Haruko said.

Then it clicked: this was exactly like the time she pulled the guitar out of his head.

"Hey, don't--" Haruko plunged her hand into his head. "I'm sorry I forgot your guitar on Earth, alright? Come on, that hurt the last time you did that!"

"Really? Does this hurt?" she stroked something.

Naota shivered in delight. "Hey! I said not to touch that from behind!" Naota had the migraine of all time as Haruko pulled a guitar from his head. He pulled the visor from his head, stood and glared at Haruko. "Ow!"

"That looks like your guitar," Rehara said.

"It is," Haruko said.

"And where is that 'Earth' place, again?" Rehara asked.

"The other arm of the galactic spiral," Haruko said.

Rehara stared at Naota. "You channeled an object that size from across the galaxy, and you're not even tired?"

"Should I be?" Naota asked innocently.

"Come on, cousin, you heard about what he did on Earth," Haruko said.

"Yeah, but…well, it's different seeing it," Rehara said. "And there is no one else on his entire planet with powers anywhere even close to this?"

"There are only a handful of channellers on the whole planet, and they can barely be called that. The second best Earthling channeller next to Ta-kun here is Amarao, and he can barely channel an object the size and rough makeup of my fist--and it takes entirely more effort than it is worth to make him do it, as well. Yeah, Ta-kun is a fortunate freak of nature," Haruko said, affectionately ruffling his hair.

"Great," Naota murmured.

"Hey, I said 'fortunate,'" Haruko said. "You could as easily have wound up with a third eye as super powers, you know."

"Can we just go?" Naota asked.

"Atomsk hasn't given us the coordinates yet," Haruko said.

"You don't know where this place is?" Naota asked.

"No one does, except for Atomsk," Haruko said.

"Can we please go, Atomsk?" Naota asked.

"Okay," Atomsk walked over to Haruko's vespa, flipped up a control panel Naota didn't even know was there, and punched some buttons. "There you go. The computers are set to take us where we need to go."

"Tell me, Atomsk," Haruko said, "you said earlier that you needed me to help you find your kid. Obviously, that's not true, so what's the real reason you want me here?"

"I said that I needed you to help him," Atomsk said.

"Help him how?" Haruko asked.

"I'd rather not say just yet. Look, we are nearing the end of our journey. All will be revealed before the day is out, I promise," Atomsk said.

"Why not spill your guts now?" Haruko asked.

"Look, I have had a reason behind everything I have done so far. Just trust me, please," Atomsk said.

"There had better be a good reason behind this, Atomsk," Haruko said.

"Don't worry. I haven't lied to you yet," Atomsk said.

"So are we going?" Raharu asked.

"We're going," Haruko said.

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"Haruko?" Naota said sheepishly. They were traveling at several times the speed of light, so it made sense that he couldn't see Rehara or Canti.

"Yeah."

"You remember how I said that I love you?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's true. Haruko…I need to know…do you love me, too?"

Haruko sighed. "You know, Ta-kun, I wanted to take you with me, I really did. But it's dangerous out here. You don't know, because all you've seen of it is my cousin's house, the police station, and that rest stop. Ta-kun, There are dangerous things out here, monsters that prey on human flesh, creatures that masquerade as human but aren't, not to mention monsters of a more mundane kind: pimps and slavers that'll see you for a beautiful youth and try to kidnap you."

_The Great Humanization Project of my people caused humans to evolve on many worlds, thus allowing the beasts of multiple worlds the opportunity to become a perfect predator on humanity instead of just one. New worlds of humanity are always popping up, so old predators don't die out, they become more specialized,_ Atomsk interjected.

"I do love you, Nao. That's why I left you on the Earth, even though you were practically sent by the gods: young, cute, the perfect weapon, and totally in love with me? Any one of those things would make you valuable as a tool or a toy, but I valued you as a person, so I left you there. Lot of good my high-handed nobility did, eh?"

"This thing's on autopilot, right?" Naota asked.

"We're going many times the speed of light. What do you think?" Haruko said.

"Could you turn around real quick?" Naota asked.

Haruko did so, saying, "Alright, but--" Naota kissed her. At first she froze, and then she kissed back. Then they stared into each other's eyes. Speaking, but not with words. "Are you sure about this?"

Naota laughed, "Isn't that supposed to be the guy's line?"

"Only on your world, and I still don't know what's wrong with you people to cause you to get everything backwards," Haruko said, smiling. "Seriously, though, are you sure?"

Naota nodded. "I love you, Haruko."

"My name is Raharu, Ta-kun."

"And mine is Naota, Haruko."

"I guess old habits are going to be hard to break." She smiled.

"Yeah. Let's work on it later." He smiled back.

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"_That's_ the Pirate King's Keep?" Naota asked.

"What does Atomsk say?" Haruko asked.

"Yup."

"Well, then it is," Haruko said.

"I was just expecting something a little more…I don't know, classy," Naota said.

They were looking at a rundown space station that looked like it had been through a war and then neglected. It looked roughly like a wheel in the middle of an axel."

"Hey, I don't usually have company over," Atomsk said.

"Why's it spinning?" Haruko asked.

"Gravity."

"It's spinning for gravity? Gods, Atomsk! How primitive is this place?"

"I don't exactly need gravity, so I never bothered to update it," Atomsk said. "Some of the things I have done will make your mouth water, though."

"There's something here. I can feel it. I don't know how, but I do," Naota said.

"The Pirate King's Keep is built over an N.O. channel conjunction point," Atomsk said.

"How powerful?" Haruko asked.

"One billion six hundred forty-three million two hundred fifty-one thousand thirty seven individual N.O. channels run through this junction," Atomsk said, "connecting to points all across this side of the galaxy and conjunctions that reach even farther. From here, I can steal planets and put them wherever I want."

"Well, does it have atmosphere? You don't need to breath, either," Haruko asked.

"Yes," Atomsk said. "Get the others to come in closer. We need to share atmosphere if I am going to pass you through the force-shield."

Haruko gestured for Rehara and Atomsk to come in close. The vespas' force-shields touched and merged, and then they were all breathing the same air. A red mist escaped from Naota's skin, and, surrounding the vespas. They continued forward, and Naota felt an electronic tingle as they passed through the force-shield, and shivered.

"What is it, Ta?" Haruko asked.

"Nothing," Naota said. He didn't want to look like a novice, even though he was.

The red mist took the form of a giant bird. "We're through the force-shield, and you can lower yours. The air in here is quite breathable. Follow me."

Atomsk flew towards the wheel. Naota noticed that it was bigger than he had first thought. He had thought he could fit all of Mabase into the interior of the wheel, now he realized that he could fit all of Japan, if he cut it into shape. They got closer, and Naota could see flying specks. _Those are birds!_ Naota realized. There were things living here! They landed on the inside of the wheel, on the shore of a great river that went around the whole of the interior. It must have had jets making it go, or something.

"Okay, we're here, where's your kid?" Haruko asked.

"Oh, my heir here," Atomsk said. He began to shape shift. "I'll formally introduce you to him soon enough." He was shrinking. "First, though, I want to say I'm sorry." His voice was changing. "I'm sorry for using you as pawns in my fiendish games, and yes, I have been, this entire time." He was taking on a vaguely human form. "What can I say? I am Atomsk." The form was slender, without a lot of muscles; Naota would have expected something a little more he-man-ish from the Pirate King. "The Master of Roads, the Patron of Thieves, the Eternal Trickster." Naota gasped as he realized he had judged the form all wrong. "I'm especially sorry to you, Naota, for I have played with you for longer than the others, and have used your special powers for my own gain. I want your forgiveness above all, and," Atomsk's hands grasped Naota's face, "I want you to be able to call me 'mother,'" she said.


	4. Chapter 7

Atomsk's Heir

S-Michael

Chapter 7 -- Atomsk's Heir

"I want your forgiveness above all, and I want you to be able to call me 'mother,'" Atomsk said. She was about 5'7", blue eyes, and black hair to the middle of the shoulder blades, and in her mid-thirties, apparently.

Naota froze. Rehara's mouth dropped open. "Dude…you're a chick?"

Atomsk rolled her eyes. "No, I am a sexless being. But when I become human, I have to assume a sex. Twenty years ago, I went to Earth and took on this form, and stayed there for about seven, eight years. Then I got bored and moved on."

"You…you can't be my mother. You just _can't_," Naota said.

Atomsk looked at him. "Can't I be? You are the most powerful channeler in the galaxy by far, and I mean by _far_, even though you come from a planet where only a handful of people can even be called channelers, and they are some of the most pathetic that side of the galaxy? You think you just randomly evolved the ability, in a single generation? Your N.O. channels have been open for nine months without any but the slightest sign of decay. In the first week you channeled two guitars and a whole gaggle of giant robots without experiencing the slightest sign of duress, and in the last week you channeled a specific object from the literal opposite end of the galaxy without complication. That alone is proof that you are at least a thousand times as powerful as the next most powerful channeler in the galaxy. Where did that power come from, Naota? It came from your mother. Me."

"Why did you drag us out here, Atomsk?" Haruko asked. "You said that it was to help your son, and if Ta-kun was your son, we could have helped him at any time. What does he need help with, anyway? He seems fine, to me."

"Gee, I don't know, you mean aside from the black hole in his head where his brain should be, having powers of a god but not the training or wisdom to use them properly, or the fact that the woman he loves wasn't going to come back for him?"

"I was too going to come back for him!" Haruko said.

"You wouldn't have been in time. Weren't you listening to my story? I went there twenty _years_ ago. Naota is a little over a decade old. You would have returned in three of four decades, by which time he would be the equivalent of a four- or five hundred year old man," Atomsk said. "Didn't you notice? What about you, Rehara, didn't it strike you as odd when he told you he was twelve _local years_ old?"

"I thought he had used the wrong word," Rehara said.

"By the time you would have returned for Naota, he would be an old man," Atomsk said.

"I…I didn't realize," Haruko said.

"Because of us, he would never again be a normal Earthling," Atomsk said. "I awakened his powers, and you used them. I take the full burden of the blame, though; you were just a pawn in my game to destroy Medical Mechanical. Living in Naota's head made me realize that playing with people's lives was wrong."

"You expect me to believe you had nothing but the best intentions in mind?" Haruko asked.

" Well, maybe not _nothing_ but the best," Atomsk said, smiling sweetly.

"Damn it, Atomsk, tell us the truth," Haruko demanded.

"I _always_ tell the truth, Raharu; even when I lie," Atomsk said.

"Don't play with me; what did you do?"

"Your world is now at war with Medical Mechanical," Atomsk said.

"What! They can't win! MM has control over worlds across the galaxy!" Rehara said.

"This was why you did it like this, isn't it?" Haruko demanded. "You framed MM for crashing that ship into our planet, and _I helped you do it!_ You evil, maniacal bitch!"

"If you're worried that this war is built on false pretenses, relax. They wanted a reason to kick MM of their planet for a while. I just gave them an excuse. Besides, they had access to Canti's memories. You can download a robot's memories, remember? They knew that since both of us couldn't be right, it was a fifty-fifty chance that what I was telling them was…wrong. They wanted the excuse, and they used it," Atomsk said. "If, however, you're worried about losing the war," she shrugged, "well, you have the might of the Pirate King backing you."

"You'd really throw in with us? That's not your style."

"Me? No. Didn't you hear? I'm retiring. Naota is the new Pirate King," Atomsk said.

"What? How am I supposed to do anything about that?" Naota demanded.

"You'll have Raharu to help and train you. Raharu, I believe I promised you power, correct? Well, here he is."

"This isn't what I meant," Haruko said.

"Well, tough. It's what I meant, and I'm the one who made the promise," Atomsk said. "Besides, you really shouldn't bitch. You're getting what you want, if in a roundabout way."

"Why are you doing this?" Haruko asked.

"Because you love him, and I know that you will take care of him. Someone has to. He has a gaping hole in his head and no way to control what comes out of it, for the love of gods. Even I don't know everything that can come out of that, and I know pretty much everything that goes on in this galaxy," Atomsk said.

"If you're his mother, why don't you do your duty to your offspring and raise him?" Haruko demanded.

"I am hardly a proper role model," Atomsk said. "I'm amoral, ruthless, callous, and until recently I didn't really care about him. Also, human life is cheap to me. I have lived for millions of years and in that time I have seen humanity itself rise and go extinct a dozen times. That sort of thing tends to make you a little callous."

"Yeah, I could imagine," Rehara said solemnly.

"No, you can't, just imagining it would make you value human life less," Atomsk said. She sighed, "When I think about it that way, it seems to be obvious that I should have left a long time ago."

"And you're going to trust the fate of the galaxy to Ta-kun and myself?" Haruko asked.

"The way I figure it, even if you screw up completely, I have seen worse," Atomsk said.

"Didn't you just say that you saw the human race go extinct _twelve times?_" Naota demanded.

"Oh, more than twelve," Atomsk said. "I'd pay to see you top that.

"Anyway, this is my gift to you, my son. You will be with Raharu, the way is paved to the end of Medical Mechanical, and you are now the most powerful creature in the galaxy. The path will not be easy, but nothing worth doing is. Or so they say; I wouldn't know."

"But I don't want to be the most powerful being in the galaxy, and I don't really know enough about Medical Mechanical to have any real emotions about them," Naota said.

"No, those were _my_ wishes," Haruko said.

"And you'll have them. Naota controls the most powerful force in the galaxy, and you control Naota," Atomsk said. "You see what I was doing now? The path is laid before you, I have arranged things so that you can walk it."

"But if we stumble from the path you picked out for us, we'll crash and die," Haruko said.

Atomsk shrugged, "Ever heard of the carrot and the stick?"

Naota stared at her. "Are you serious? Jesus Christ, I'm _glad_ you didn't raise me!"

Atomsk smiled smugly and bowed. "Look, it may seem a little harsh, but I can't really help it. I am literally entrusting you with the fate of the galaxy, even if just for as sort a time as your lifetimes and however long it takes for the repercussions of your actions to ripple into nothing. Screw ups can't be tolerated. No matter what you do with the galaxy, you're going to need each other, you're going to need the power, and you're going to need the N.O. channel conjunction under this place or one very much like it. A hole in your head the like of that, you'll need a place like this just to defend yourself. Don't worry, you'll learn, and you'll live, and if you're not happy it will be entirely your fault. I'm literally giving you the keys to the galaxy here."

"But…you haven't told me anything. I have this great power, and I don't know how to use it, you saddle a war on my shoulders, and I'm on the opposite side of the galaxy as my home planet, when only a handful of Earthlings have even _left_ it. I'm lost and confused…"

"You'll learn," Atomsk said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving. All this yakking is driving me mad." She turned into a giant bird, and flew away.

"Wait! What about--?"

"There's a manual in the computer's files, it ought to tell you everything you need to know," Atomsk shouted back before disappearing from sight.

"Talk about one weird week," Rehara said.

"I've had weirder," Naota said.

"Oh, yeah?" Haruko asked.

"You should know," Naota said. "You were there."

FIN

Author's Commentary (As If You Care)

Yeah, I know the last chapter is short, but what can I say? I was kind of building it like a Sherlock Holmes thing where everything is revealed and explained in the last chapter, and when I managed to do that in half the allotted space, well, the story ended.

This is actually one of the first stories I ever set out to do. It was in the same folder as _Never Trust a Demon_ from when I just started visiting this site, but if you're reading this than you probably read the commentary on chapters 1-4, and so know all about that.

I am particularly proud of the twist. It was the singular stroke a brilliance that kindled the flame of this story to life (am I mixing metaphors?). Yes, it was planned from the beginning, and even after forgetting the story for god knows how many months, the first thing I remembered when I looked at this manuscript was that at the end, it's supposed to turn out that Atomsk is Naota's mom.

I didn't really go into as much detail as I would have liked about the alien cultures, customs, etcetera encountered in this story, which was unfortunate, but seems to happen to me a lot. Rehara's world was supposed to give you the feeling of a hot, dry place, and I hoped it did. Chyochi was supposed to feel like, well, I guess like a cruise liner, sort of. And of course, there was supposed to be a lot of blue. I think that Chyochi, at least, conveyed the way it was meant to. I never got into the pastel colors of Rehara's world. Also, I had this idea for this whole sub-adventure that was supposed to happen on Chyochi, but I didn't get to a computer fast enough, so now it is lost to memory. Ah, well.

The first response I got to the first four chapters commented on how Naota forgot Haruko's guitar, and I swore to myself. You see, Naota had a really good excuse for forgetting it: because I forgot it. I did manage to work retrieving it into the story rather smoothly, however, so it was for the best.

I hope you liked it, and if you did, you should also read_ Don't call me Ta-kun_. (I make it a point to always plug those works of mine that are in the same whatever, series, I guess.) That one, I remember, was inspired by "Firestarter" (episode 2, I think). I say so here because I never did there.

Thanks for reading, hoped you like it, please R&R, and all that other crap. No, seriously, though.


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